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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549559">Obstacles in Trajectory</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BountyHuntress16/pseuds/BountyHuntress16'>BountyHuntress16</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Daughter of Gelmorra [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Canon-Typical Violence, Duskwight Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Elezen Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Everyone is Queer, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Gambling, Hand Jobs, Light mention of gore, Patch 2.0: A Realm Reborn Spoilers, Polyamorous Character, Sexual Content, Shamey Exes, Thancred is Always Hard on Himself, Triple Triad (Final Fantasy)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:00:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BountyHuntress16/pseuds/BountyHuntress16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The banked fire in his brown eyes roars to life as one of his eyebrows lifts. Her breath catches at the quirk of his lips. Now is not the time to be reminded of how damn pretty he is and yet–</p><p>—</p><p>Thancred is disconcertingly attractive. And a tangle of mixed signals. Eventually, something will have to give.</p><p>Prequel to Ardent, both can be read as stand-alone pieces.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Daughter of Gelmorra [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Obstacles in Trajectory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Note: This story includes an encounter with a shamey ex and the fallout of such, if that is a headspace you need to avoid.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The fabric is rough against Nerys’ skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hasn't risen so far that she's above the hempen cloth. But coupled with the smothering heat and the sand? And the awareness of the man next to her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tucks herself farther under the shade of the single tree they have found. The heat is an oppressive, weighted blanket even out of direct sunlight. When she looks back at his too-nice profile, his lips are twitching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you about to laugh at me?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I would never laugh at a lady and a comrade." Thancred just manages to mask his laughter with a courtly tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Attractive even as he mocks her. She had hoped his face would lose effect as they worked together. She is an adult, a now-accomplished adventurer. No blushing innocent maiden discovering her desires for the first time. An infatuation </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be beneath her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her stomach flutters in rebellion. "Do you think me a lady, Thancred?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course!" He dips into a bow, and she has no choice but to laugh. "You have such a presence to you. That's why when I see you scowling at the sun…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm acclimating to heat like this." Nerys tilts her head up, the rough bark of the tree pressing into her neck and spine. Sweat beads on her forehead, her ribs, the small of her back. "Even the hottest days of the Twelveswood have ample shade and the caverns are always cool."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It does take some getting used to." He steps over to her. It does nothing for the heat in her face and she can only pray her blue-grey skin isn’t suffusing with telltale color. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He holds out a hand. "You might feel better standing a bit. ‘Twill let the breeze circulate about you more, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred’s hand is rough with calluses, his grip gentle on her fingers. Once up, she is quick to draw back before she gets lost in youthful mooning. Or even worse: swaying towards him like she once did on her sixteenth nameday towards the butcher’s son. That might have been her most humiliating rejection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In any case," says Nerys. "As your new partner, I should try to inspire more confidence about my contribution."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No no, you've nothing to prove to me." He looks up at her. "Even if not for your special talent, you've made a name for yourself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A presence," she repeats, thoughtful now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just so. You-ah, damn it all. Right when we were enjoying ourselves." He tilts his head towards the figure approaching. Right when she was on the verge of feeling at ease. More pressing matters await–their ruse has worked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither she nor Thancred are prepared for what comes. Not the ambush, not the betrayal, not being offered to a Primal. She reassures the Flame soldiers and adventurers among the party best as she can. They have the time to formulate a plan and the skill to make it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking back, she will never understand why the divine force that saves some of them passes over the soldiers. She has never pretended to understand Gods, nor put much stock in them before these past months. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hydaelen's protection means she doesn't succumb to Ifrit’s thrall. It means she does not turn to ash. It means that however often they fall, she and the other adventurers get back up. Stronger. More capable. All aware of how impossible their situation is. None say a word in case it breaks the enchantment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battle stretches on for hours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battle happens in no time at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battle is a blur of memory and fire as she stands there, catching her breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too many embers dance around her. Nerys fears she is seeing double but nothing else multiplies–the landscape, the adventurers, the red crystal on the ground before her. What she sees when she picks it up...if not for Minfillia's explanations, she would worry Ifrit had knocked her about one time too many.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tread of foot upon dirt and pebble and rock has her turning. She knows before she sees him, another clue that she needs to stop acting like a green lass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Relief blossoms across Thancred’s brow and jaw. His hand reaches out, brushes her arm. "Pray forgive my lateness. I was delayed by a congregation of Amal'jaa zealots, each more evangelical than the last."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys opens her mouth to speak, tasting ash and smoke. It catches in her throat and she turns aside to cough. "Good to...see you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you, good to see you in one piece and untempered." He sighs. "An–oh, dash it all."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred only needs a few steps to leap into the air, a deadly arc of knives and grace that falls into the attacking Amalj'aa warrior. Nerys pivots in time to see him land in a cat-like crouch, his foe falling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swallows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shall we say our goodbyes and leave?” He asks. To which she can only nod and rub at her hoarse throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The life of an adventurer is not one of easy transactions. Even a simple job for a mill owner can multiply as new questions and issues arise with every task completed. Competent as they are, the Immortal Flames are no exception to this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They debrief her several times over. None of them can quite believe the particulars of her tale but also cannot call her a liar after she killed a Primal for them. At last, they grasp that her story will not change and dismiss them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred suggests they seek rooms in Camp Drybone but Nerys wants to wrap up the whole business tonight. Leave herself a day or two for nothing but recuperation. "We'll travel along the aether, it's not so far to the Waking Sands after that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah so as I suspected." He holds out an arm. "You are one of those notorious workaholics."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She loops her arm through his, smiling down at him. "Please, flatter me more. I think I've earned it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tomorrow I will give a toast to the lovely Mistress Eluned of the Lance, who emerged from the Bowl of Embers a legend." His hands glow as he summons the transportation magicks. "If we start celebrating tonight, we will pass out by the third sip."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Linked as they are, the aether catches them both and flings them to Horizon. As Nerys said, it is not that much farther to Vesper Bay. Certainly not worth paying a Chocobo porter fee. But by the time they reach Minfilia, she fears she has miscalculated. Perhaps they won’t mind if she faints on the cold stone floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some enchantment keeps the air circulating in the base, cooling it to match a crisp autumn night in the Shroud. The cold kiss of it invigorates her long enough to tell the story, promising to elaborate details on the morrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her tale told, she's surprised when Thancred speaks up. "I should have been there when she was captured. She should never have been served up to Ifrit like a choice dish for the feast."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thancred," Minfilia begins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I failed her utterly and hope the both of you will forgive me. This and all the other ways I have been a disappointment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You cannot hold yourself to account for everything." Minfilia shakes her head. This has the weight of an argument often had, perhaps for weeks or months or longer. Nerys feels like an outsider in that moment, never mind that she is the subject of this particular exchange.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred smiles as if to dull the sting of his words. She knows the trick well enough–say what you fear others will and invite them to laugh with you over it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys does not laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In any case," He shifts so that he faces both of them. "As suspected, the Amalj'aa were behind the thefts and the abductions."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minfilia stares hard at Thancred before allowing his subject change. "We can explain the why and how and what your Echo did for you today at a later time, Nerys. For now I think you both should go rest."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I cannot argue that point," Nerys admits. "Thank you both."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tataru showed you the sleeping chambers, yes?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys nods. She had received an extensive tour on her first arrival there. There were only three private bedrooms in the base. For the rest was a cavernous room full of cots for those who might need to stay a night or few. Tataru had designated which ones she might use for such occasions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She makes her way there after the formalities and thank yous to her hostess. The room is empty. It is actually early evening, it only felt like the longest day of her lifetime. Mayhaps time works differently in the Bowl of Embers, with a goddess working strange protections.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bathing herself and cleaning her armor can wait till tomorrow. Also cleaning the bed she is about to dirty with sweat and dust and sand and ash. She strips down to her smalls and collapses atop the cool sheets and creaky frame. They are slightly rough from dozens of washings and smell of the abrasive laundry soap that sells cheaply in the Sapphire Avenue Exchange.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No bed has ever felt more comfortable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a concession to modesty, she maneuvers herself under the comforter. (Someone else's modesty, not hers.) Adventurers, soldiers, they all learn to not panic at the sight of flesh after a battle. But there are scholars here and she doesn’t know how they might react.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opens as she closes her eyes. That familiar tread again. Nerys pushes herself to sit up, jaw aching as she clenches back a yawn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thancred?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He is pointedly looking at her face in the way she feared one of the scholars might if they found her half-nude. This is...unexpected. She has been around him long enough to hear him flirt and make innuendo with any variety of persons in the wider world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Apologies, I meant to catch you before you slept." His mouth twists. "As ever, my timing is egregious."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Better now than when I was throwing my gauntlets in a pile," she says. "It was a little undignified."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffs with laughter and draws closer. "Just don't leave the pile when you depart or Tataru will find ways to make you pay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sure her revenge will be tolerable."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile falters. "Mistress Nerys Eluned of the Lance...I would not bet on you over Tataru in any situation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Noted. Was there something you needed?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shifts from foot to foot. "If you'll pardon my excess worry...I came to make sure you didn’t need any medical attention or anything else."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Once I wake up I expect to be very sore. Otherwise...you and the Scions have provided all I could ask for."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, that self-deprecating smile. "I think you'd agree I haven't done all I could today."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...What if you had come early," she says. "And been tempered?" She reaches out and touches his hand, drawing him closer to her bedside. Before she left the office they had told her the fate of the tempered ones. How close they both had been to such death if not for chance and divine intervention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That is not-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It is the point as far as I am concerned." At her next tug, he crouches down so they are eye level. It is a rare experience for her. "I would have never forgiven myself for that. Whatever force kept you away...I thank it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His expression softens. "You're too kind. But thank you, I...that is good to hear."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fatigue loosens her tongue. Or maybe she is emboldened by her victories today. Or maybe she is simply...foolish with infatuation. "It would be a shame to lose the handsomest Scion in such a manner."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Petal pink traces touch his cheeks. He leans in. "You say that only because you haven't seen Urianger without mask and hood."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh?" She leans in as well. "Ask him to remove them for me. I would like to compare."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His fingers curl against her cheek and her breath catches at the touch, eyes drifting shut. Her romantic daydreams take shape-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He withdraws. "You came here to get rest, I should...leave you to it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opens her eyes. He has taken several steps back. The gentle blush is still there but he also looks...hunted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't have to-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Please," he says. "Get some rest for my sake. You've surely earned it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred retreats before she can reply. She's not entirely sure what happened. He had seemed receptive to whatever was about to happen until...at once he was not?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys sighs and lays back down, resting her forearm over her eyes against the dusk light filtering through the vents. At least she is so exhausted her brain does not have time to parse what happened over and over and over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That too will wait for tomorrow. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Tomorrow passes in the same manner as her other days in the Waking Sands. Debriefings and lectures and exchanging information. Thancred doesn't seem bothered by what happened but he also seems...unaffected. As if nothing did occur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fact that he arranges to not be anywhere alone with her is the only clue the near-kiss wasn't a dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Work is a balm for many things and she's sent on her way to attend ceremonies and choose a Grand Company. She is mostly set on aiding her native Gridania but the other city-states deserve consideration. There is so much she still doesn’t know about them, having lived in the Shroud all her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys is fairly certain she has, at least. Remembrance is a strange thing in Eorzea. Everyone knows there is a hole in their memories. No one knows how large the chasm is for themselves. These places still </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> new when she visits them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now is different from the first time she arrived on airship, bearing letters from Kan-E-Senna. Then she had been Nerys: unrecognized and unremarkable. At best she feared running into certain enemies, specific former lovers. But now she is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mistress Eluned</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the one everyone whispers about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the stone paths of Limsa Lominsa and Ul’dah both she feels the press of eyes. Double takes and squinting stares; nudges and whispers and subtle or unsubtle pointing. The scrutiny is at its most intense on the Royal Promenade. Captivating as General Raubahn and the Sultana are, they cannot hold all the attention when they are not speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is not unfamiliar. When a Duskwight enters a new place in the Shroud she is always under watchful eye. No matter that she has coin enough or that she may be a child in her mother’s arms, hoping that town has maple sugar sweets. But now it’s all awe and wonder at her appearance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair of siblings she has seen at these events especially regard her and she isn't sure how to catalogue them. Not a threat, she can tell that much. But the young man looks at her like she is a new tool he might wield. The young woman is harder to read. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is a relief to return to the Waking Sands, not just for the cooled air that wraps about her. These people...she knows she is here because she is useful. There are bonds of memory and friendship in these Scions that long pre-date her. But they all treat her as a mortal and do not seem to bear any ill will, nor plan to cause her pain if they can help it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Were they so mercenary, Minfilia and Thancred would not have apologized so for Ifrit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Grand Company representatives will return soon from a shared lunch in Vesper Bay, none of them expected her early arrival. She relaxes in the storeroom the Scions like to use as a gathering place, currently empty but for a man sharpening his blade in the far corner. Nerys sits in one of the wooden chairs, propping her long legs upon a crate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It does feel lovely to lounge. Tension seeps out of her in a way it couldn't during her three-ceremony tour. At least standing in the amphitheatre in Old Gridania she was a little better known, less likely to draw whispers of surprise. She has long grown used to pretending not to see certain people she might prefer to avoid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gridania is not so large you can avoid residents forever. One learns to look past certain persons or affect a wan smile that just covers the formalities without engaging.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Limsa...Limsa she half-expected to run into Raena at any moment. Never mind that she last headed to the farthest reaches of La Noscea to capture the tropics on her canvas. That was months before Nerys started her adventuring career. Raena might have tired of the humid jungles and dangerous fauna. Might have decided she preferred city life</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It would not have surprised Nerys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"-bothered asking her?" A voice drifts into the wide cavern of the room. Nerys thinks it’s Y’shtola.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's no need," she hears Thancred say. The identity of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> voice is no question. "I know myself better than any, I know I would only cause ill feelings."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Y'shtola walks through the doors, eyes alighting on Nerys. "Again, have you bothered asking?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have not asked-Nerys!" Thancred looks startled and then pleased. "We weren't expecting you till the evening."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I made excellent time," she replies. He seems more surprised than the situation warrants.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"All the more time to tell us how it went," says Y'shtola, dragging a chair over to Nerys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At her gesture, Thancred sits as well, a tentative smile on his face. "I'm more curious if you decided you would rather work more closely with Y'shtola or me. I think the choice rather obvious."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...the good news," says Nerys. "Is that I shall disappoint you both equally."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Y'shtola gives Nerys a long, hard look and she wonders if she has truly offended her. They had not gotten to know each other yet so surely-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You had the right of it," says Y'shtola. She counts out five gil and slides them across the table to Thancred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now wait a second," says Nerys. "If I'm to be bet on I at least deserve a percentage."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hand snaps up at the bit of shine arcing towards her, catching the coin neatly out of the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred whistles. "Reflexes as impeccable as always, Mistress Eluned."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Enough of that." She slashes the air before her as if it will clear away the strange wall of formality and tension. "Just Nerys, if you please."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only if I please?" He turns to Y'shtola and finds her gone, slipped from the table without notice or sound. "Ah...she left."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did I interrupt something?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hm? No, no, we were the ones who came into this public room after all." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh good." She stands, lifting her arms up high in a stretch before pressing her palms to her lower back, turning herself this way and that. The chair was not the most comfortable. "Come get some tea with me? If I don't now, I have a feeling I won't have time for it later."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn't answer. She looks at him–no he hasn't vanished like Y'shtola. Instead, his eyes linger on her stretching limbs and turning hips. All at once, he jerks his gaze to her eyes and nods. His smile fixes in place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tea sounds lovely but I have a mountain of work I've neglected. Promise me a cup soon though?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he looks so sweet at her then that she nods, letting him dodge the invitation and still make her stomach flutter.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Nerys gathers her heavy waves of hair, leather tie gripped in her teeth. Some of the locks try to escape and she scoops them back up, smoothing the hair against her skull best as she can. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It doesn't need to be perfect if it gets the weight off her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako chirps her curiosity and Nerys tilts her head, showing how she ties the hair into a ponytail that won't come loose if (when) she fights. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn't actually know if the Chocobo understands. Nerys first rode one around the time she joined the Adventurer's Guild. And now here she is, owning one and traveling across Eorzea where the aether streams can’t take her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"All set," she tells her companion. "We've a ferry to catch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The warm, damp air enfolds them. Putting her hair up helps but sweat still trickles under her armor. Nerys takes the reins and starts to guide Minako through the calm streets of Aleport. The sun shines bright on the stone, seeming to glow along with the Aetheryte. It's truly lovely here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is no time to-...well that isn't quite true. Buscarron has her performing tasks while he gathers information (including one for the guild they both belong to). She knows none of these tasks are helping him track down the Sylph leader, not directly. Nerys is simply taking on smaller errands so he can focus on the urgent matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But still: no dawdling. He might have news this moment while she admires the stonemasonry. She left Papalymo and Yda’s direction with him. Any moment he might seek them out and one of them will raise her on linkpearl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ferry is docked and waiting for passengers. It looks large enough to accommodate her and Minako a few times over. She only sees one person preparing to board-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys stops short. And then yelps at the sudden sting of pain in her shoulder–Minako nipping her for the abrupt halt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stop that," she tells the Chocobo. Minako chirps her indignation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The solo passenger stares at her a moment. "Now this is a sight I haven't seen in a while."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's been an eventful handful of weeks." She approaches him. "You're surprised, so you're not here on my account."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "No, but as always…" Thancred bends into a graceful bow he might have learned from Urianger. "I'm at your service."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She can't stop the smile rising to her lips. "Can I ask what you are doing here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can explain in a more intimate setting." He waves his hand towards the boat. "In the meanwhile, I know from experience that the trip takes a few rounds of Triad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns to pet Minako's soft neck feathers, coaxing her towards the vessel. "You’ve a deck of cards?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know where they keep the cards on the boat." She can feel his tamped-down laughter. "Do tell, have you ever brought a Chocobo onto a ferry before?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have not."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll talk to our captain and arrange things then. You might want to give her a treat to distract her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He is gone, his movements smooth as silk when he approaches the ticketer. Gil flashes between palms. He didn't have to do that, she'll pay him back-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako nudges her, shaking feathers in a manner that jostles the saddlebags. Can a Chocobo look and act pointed? She must have understood what Thancred said on some level. That theory is confirmed when the Karakul root comes out and Minako crows in triumph.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I keep underestimating you," Nerys says. "Forgive me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako nips her shoulder again but this time it's the barest pressure, more affectionate. Though as it’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>same</span>
  </em>
  <span> spot, it hurts with the force of her previous reprimand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All settled with the boat aimed out to sea and Minako in her stall, Nerys produces her supply of cards. Adventurers cannot always depend on the lance to move things along. Sometimes she needs to play a few rounds of triad to get what she wants: information, favors, admittance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Subterfuge is not her first or second weapon of choice. The lance–that is a direct solution to a problem. And there is the fact that a Duskwight wielding a weapon is more comforting than one brandishing words. Her truths are so often assumed lies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred sets a wooden box upon the rough-hewn wooden table. It’s bolted to the deck with their chairs, a bare nod to comfort for passengers. She has a low, constant fear the thing will leave her with splinters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He unlatches it and withdraws stacks of well-worn cards, shuffling through the pile. Nerys takes the moment to watch him, noticing the hollows under his eyes and the way his posture sags. She wonders what exactly his mission is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Name your rules and your wager," Thancred says, setting his chosen cards face down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Three Open, Order." Nerys reaches for her belt. "Shall we play for gil or would you like tokens for the Saucer?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If our current missions mean we have to camp in the brush tonight," says Thancred. "Then the winner delegates a task like building the fire or fetching water."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys lifts her eyebrow. "What if our missions part us almost immediately upon arrival?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let us not gamble otherwise. I don’t want to take </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> your money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wouldn't worry about me," she replies. "5 gil every time you turn an opponent's card."</span>
</p><p>His brown eyes gleam. "And chores?"</p><p>
  <span>"When camping chores run out, we'll grant favors." She produces a single coin, balancing it on her closed thumb. "Heads or tails."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tails," he says. Should she worry about the smug look on his face?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He starts. And then proceeds to flip almost all of her cards. She manages to save two but turns over none of his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred smirks down at the devastation he has wrought. "Again? And same rules?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Again. Same rules." She reaches into herself, pulling on the calm, quiet mask that has served her well before. This time the defeat is not so horrific, though a defeat all the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leads her on a merry dance across different rule sets. She catches up, starts to turn the tide, and then he surges again. They draw randomly from the boat's deck to find new ways to win and he remains just out of reach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One more game before we disembark," he says, glancing at the approaching shore. "Same wager and rules?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ascending, Random," she says. "And no gil. This time we play for truths."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>causes a crack in his victorious expression. "I'm...not familiar with that one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If I take a card, you owe me a truth about yourself in the next oh...48 hours. And vice versa." She deals out cards from the communal deck. "And no workarounds like ‘I have white hair’ or small things like ‘I prefer red wine.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not to mention ‘twould be a falsehood," he says. "I prefer white wine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With some trepidation, yes...I am in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite her complicated relationship with gods in practice and theory, she thanks them for her hand. Two primal cards will together lift her score, moreso if there are any in his hand (though she doesn’t want to help his score either). It’s a good array, she might have a chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred calls the coin and goes first, laying down a primal card of his own. She is able to mask her expression, even pinch her eyebrows in feigned concern. It’s a high number card.  She isn’t ready to make one of her high-scoring cards vulnerable yet. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> caught onto her trick of claiming the corners first though so she breaks the pattern, leaving a trap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flips her card with another primal. “One truth, Mistress Eluned.” He savors each syllable, drawing them out in a sing-song way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys smirks and springs the trap he’s walked into, turning both his primals with one of hers. “Two truths, Master Waters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffs a laugh. “Now that I could become used to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The name?” Nerys props her chin in her hand. “Or the losing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The banked fire in his brown eyes roars to life as one of his eyebrows lifts. Her breath catches at the quirk of his lips. Now is not the time to be reminded of how damn pretty he is and yet–</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flips one of hers. She cannot turn a card again until she creates a safety net for it so he takes another of hers with another primal. She flips one of his, he flips two of hers. She cannot turn anything so she attempts to block him off. He still flips two more of hers as he fills the board.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We never did assign winnings to the ascending points gathered…” He stands, grinning from ear to ear as the warm ocean breeze ruffles his hair and clothes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too late now. I think six truths from me is really enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you like your two truths now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she shakes her head. “I’ll ask for those later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred gives her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Better luck next time. Make sure to practice a few times first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I am going to practice on your-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ship’s captain calls out to prepare for arrival. Nerys decides she will kick him later and check on Minako now. He is fortunate the captain intervened when he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako dozes in her stall, comfortably sprawled over a circular nest of straw and hay. Nerys pauses a moment, watching the bird at peace. This would be lovely, to laze a whole day here. The breeze pungent with salt and a balm against the warm sun, the gentle waters lulling one to sleep as they napped on a boat. She has never taken a pleasure cruise, maybe once things quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kneels and the sound of her clothing and armor snap Minako to wakefulness, her eyes open and alert. Her yawn spreads the scent of half-chewed Karakul root and Chocobo breath, a thick grassy smell that has Nerys turning her face away. The peace of the moment vanishes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did well,” she says and Minako bristles, holding her head high. As if to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course I did. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Well, the Serpents </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> given her more formal training than Nerys had received. Even Ywain’s Lancer Guild was more about sending fledgling “chicks” out into danger to immediately test the new skills they learned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako stands, shaking one talon and then the other, then the rest of her body so a few golden feathers fly loose. A hand shoots out to grab one and offers it forth. “If you have the space, keep these. They’ll fetch a nice price.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I’ll need some money for all the gil I owe you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred laughs. “I shall create a payment plan. Where is your next stop?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys looks at the approaching docks and the collection of structures and goods. “Here. I’m running an errand on this dock and then spending a few hours harvesting supplies. Given how things usually go, I assume the residents will have tasks they need an adventurer for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s very likely. If I’m back in the evening and you’re still around, we’ll set up camp?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks down at him and nods. “Where are you headed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He winks. “That I’m afraid is a truth I can’t divulge in so open a place. But I’ll see you soon I hope?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll save you your chores to do,” she agrees. “I hate fetching water.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The copper scent of Coeurl viscera leaves in the third washing. Her small knife cleans the rest from under her fingernails, the sharp edge twice going too far. The second time she dunks her hands back into the cool relief of the water while hissing and swearing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hopes the spirits are worth the honestly bizarre distilling process. And that Buscarron is pleased by her efforts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No word via linkpearl about moving forward with the Sylphs. Nerys cannot fully appreciate the respite knowing their leader is in danger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Above, the sky is painted pink, orange, and purple against the dark silhouette of the trees. The insects warm up for their nighttime performance. It's a low hum and buzz now, liable to crescendo as the moon rises. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ferry approaches the trading post as she does with her bag of gathered materials. Some she will sell outright in Limsa Lominsa if there is time; some she will use to strengthen her equipment and create fortifying meals and simple potions. Cooking comes far easier but it seems a waste to not try her hand at alchemy, given how often she finds the resources for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred appears from the shadows in one fluid motion, lifting his hand in greeting. Beyond, the Qiqirn merchants offer wares to the group waiting for the ferry. Someone is roasting meat over a campfire and the smell makes her stomach rumble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I heard about your new distillery business," he says. "I'm no expert but I have a feeling it won't be done tonight."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I had the same worry." She says. "He’s already agreed to just bring it to where it will be fine to seal and carry over and ferment in that state. I had hoped…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some distance away, Teteroon glares at a pot and shakes a large wooden cook spoon at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...I suppose you'll take the ferry without me,” Nerys finishes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There will be one more trip before the boat retires for the night and I've already been promised grilled dodo." Thancred beckons her over towards the cookfires. "I'll confirm that you're joining us. Toss them some of the foodstuffs you gathered and they-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words are lost to her. One of the travelers waiting for the ferry stares at her. Much like Ul’dah where passersby puzzled over how they knew her. Except this is no stranger and she suspects the lack of recognition is because she is so far from the Shroud. Out of her natural habitat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sees the moment Raena understands who she is seeing–an ex in a region she'd never been before in the company of a handsome stranger. Raena herself stands very close to an unknown Roegadyn woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Raena," says Nerys, mouth wretchedly dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nerys," Raena’s eyebrows curve down over her brown eyes. Her hair, a matching shade of light umber is in its familiar queue but now goes to her waist. "This is a surprise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We arrived earlier today and are considering our camp right now," Nerys says with more control than she feels. "Are you...enjoying La Noscea?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if their final conversation hadn't ended with crying and anger and Nerys saying ugly things she couldn't take back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raena nods, chewing the inside of her cheek. That motion always came when she was considering her words and Nerys prepares herself. "I much prefer it. It's excellent inspiration for my work."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good, I...was hoping that was the case."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kiellen has a talent for finding new landscapes to capture." Raena slides her long artist's fingers into the Roegadyn woman's hand. "Kiellen, Nerys is the one I told you about, from the Shroud."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The skin around Kiellen's eyes tightens, sweeping over Nerys in one assessing glance before nodding. She looks unimpressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys can do nothing but smile. Her heart is long recovered and she caused pain as well but..her chest aches with the memory of still-raw grief and self-recrimination. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thancred," says Thancred. She forgot he was there but now he's a comforting presence at her shoulder. "And not to rush you but I would like to see about purchasing whatever they are spit-roasting over there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They've an excellent cook employed by the trading post," Raena offers in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>I am trying to kind voice</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The words leave her and she reverts to chewing at the cheek again, her brown eyes narrowed slightly at Thancred. Nerys recognizes that too, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>I wasn’t going to say this but I need to</span>
  </em>
  <span> expression. "...Does he know, Nerys? Or are you going to take him by surprise too?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys draws back, the phantom aches turning into actual pain. Maybe she deserves that for the things she said when Raena left her, even if she disagrees with her premise. "Thancred isn't-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because that was the worst part, that you weren't upfront about it." Raena's words come out in a rush, clearly happy to escape after stewing all this time. "I could have moved on far sooner if I knew-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was never a requirement or something I asked for," Nerys straightens to her full height. "Raena I never meant-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Our ship is here," says Kiellen. "Safe journeys to the both of you." The well-built woman ushers Raena to the ferry, speaking in low, soothing tones. Nerys can't make herself walk away. She's trembling with apologies and defenses both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She expected awkwardness or coldness or even hurrying to get away from conversation. But not to be...scolded before all these strangers and Thancred besides.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think," says Thancred. "In a short while, she will be mortified at how she vented that all upon you. As far as victories go, it isn't much but…" He shrugs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes." Nerys lifts her chin. Clenches her trembling hands into fists to steady them. "Let me check on Teteroon and his project. If it's not ready then we'll make camp."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Remember," he says, eyes soft and teasing tone gentle. "You owe me several tasks for that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I live to serve, Master Waters." She imitates the same graceful bow he might have given. Wills herself to appear calm and cool and at ease. Thancred looks like he almost believes it too.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>It is not Coeurl whisker alcohol but it’s smooth as it goes down, filling her throat and stomach with a gentle burn. The roasted dodo in her stomach tempers the effects. There will be no drunken shambling tonight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she stands and cranes her neck she can see Teteroon sporadically tending to the brew. It will be ready in the morning and she is welcome to make her camp in the shelter of the trading post. Sitting before her fire, bottle in hand…she is well and truly settled for the evening. Everything is light and warmth and ignoring the worries at her door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The night air is the best seasoning for this bird,” Thancred declares. “Though the liquor is a nice accompaniment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last ferry is well gone and he remains, hand outstretched for the bottle. In the firelight, the shadows under his eyes seem more pronounced. She hands it over and he returns to his previous pose–legs stretched out in front, one palm holding his weight behind him while the other grips the neck of the bottle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been drunk in worse places,” Nerys says. She moves a little closer to him, the dirt and grass crunching underneath. “Have you ever been to the Tam-Tara Deepcroft?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes become wide as the full moon above them. “You didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys lowers her voice, drawing out the picture. “There I was, just sixteen, and trying to impress a boy with how much I could drink. Never mind that I had never had spirits besides a bit of wine for special holidays. He told me that he and his friends often dared themselves to see how close they could get into the Deepcroft through an alternate route, unguarded by the Adders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was not about to let a group of Wildwood Elezen say they lasted longer than a true daughter of Gelmorra. And I knew caverns like….this,” She waves the back of her hand at him. Ah, but that loses the storytelling cadence so she settles back into her tone and serene posture. “I commanded him to take me there and we shared more drink on the way, for bravery.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred shakes his head. “I know for a fact you survive this tale and I am still terrified on your behalf.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps you are speaking to a shade, a ghoul pretending at life…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs. “The story please, I must know what happens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Donatien took me there, a passage in a cave that had likely been created by some wild animal or maybe some fools trying to get inside. Either way, the Serpents found it and blocked it up years ago. But at the time...I took his hand and led him down. We tried hard to be quiet but I was laughing so much and he was shushing me...when the large carrion beetle appeared and hissed at us, it was almost too late to dodge its attack.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys widens her arm to approximate the size of the monster. “It was gigantic. I don’t know how we ran so fast while so drunk. But we kept running until I saw the Bentbranch Aetheryte….and then I woke up to intense cold. One of the stablehands had found us passed out in an empty stall and dumped a bucket of ice water on us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred sighs with relief. “How was the hangover?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awful.” Nerys takes the bottle and another sip.”Even worse, it took me a few more weeks to catch on that he wasn’t interested in dating or courting me. Just drinking and kissing during the nighttime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He winces. “More the fool he. Look at you now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her stomach flutters a little. “Well, that was one of my six truths. I’d like one of yours now please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh ho, is that how we’re doing it? I expected to drop them as worked for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might be gone by tomorrow,” she says. “I’d like to collect now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promise that you’ll have them before I leave.” He replies with a shrug and a grin. “As you owe six to my two, it would balance better if we had another of yours first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh but you’re not getting another elaborate one.” Nerys gives his arm a little poke. “My second truth is that I lived in the South Shroud for most of my childhood, and then I flitted between Central and East for a while. It wasn’t until I joined the Adventurer’s Guild that I left Gridania for the first time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Truly? You’ve some catching up to do then.” Thancred waves at the world around them. “When I was the age you were that fateful night in the Deepcroft, I had been everywhere in Eorzea. Even Coerthas, despite their chilly reception.” When she stifles a groan at that one, he waggles his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But where are you from originally?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in my place of origin now, or nearly. I was born within the white stone confines of Limsa Lominsa. Even if you’re not much of a sailor, the open sea and ocean air inspire a certain...wanderlust in our nation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys giggles, a sign she has probably had enough for liquor for now. She gives him the bottle so she doesn’t keep sampling from it. “Ah yes, the lusty people of Limsa Lominsa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, some of us are lusty in other ways.” Thancred winks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she sees it happen before her eyes, the same pattern he has repeated twice now. Realizing what he just did, looking contrite, folding himself into someone friendly but not flirtatious. The fatigue that has cloaked him all this while seems heavier now. “In any event, there is my truth. May I make a request about your next one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You may…” she hedges. “But I may not answer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who was that Hyur woman who arrived to take the ferry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys sighs, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin upon them. When they left the scene and he hadn’t pressed, she’d assumed he would let it alone.  “...Raena Fallcraft. We were...she was my lover of almost two years. We broke it off about six months before I first met Yda and Papalymo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I had the feeling. It was not an amenable break then? If there even is such a thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course there is,” she says with a snort. “I’ve had plenty amenable partings of ways, both temporary and final. But also before her, I never was with someone I really believed I would be with forever. My lovers until then...we were either lovers for a night or friends with an arrangement...or it became clear within weeks that things would not last. Raena was different in every way–I wooed and courted her, she wanted to bring me everywhere and introduce me to everyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were never brought ‘round to meet the family before?” He moves closer, leaning nearer. She is not sure what is behind the push and pull of his behavior. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> like feeling she could reach out if she needs to, his body a solid anchor close to hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was never...No. But I got to know her entire family and how proud they were of their daughter the artist. She paints these landscapes...it’s as if you’re there but it’s all enhanced. Entrancing. Capturing the aether in the landscape without making it so obvious.” Nerys traces the silhouette of the trees against the dusk, fingers dancing in the air over the patterns of aether she can see when she squints. “I bet the ones she got of this place were fantastic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys shakes her head. “Mm, I’ve talked quite enough. You should tell me something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not the pattern we agreed on Mistress Eluned.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bristles. Reaches for the bottle again and takes a long swig. “You asked mine so I ask yours. Why didn’t you kiss me that day? I know you were going to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she poked him now, she might knock him over. The shock on him shows he wasn’t expecting that one. Thancred wraps a warm hand around hers, prying the bottle away. Nerys holds on a moment, face scrunching into a scowl before she lets him take it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I tell you,” he starts. He crouches beside her, holding the bottle in his lap. Close now–no matter how he seems to fight it, he ends up back in her orbit smelling of travel and sea salt and leather and blade oil. “Will you tell me what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll tell you.” She shifts to balance on her knees, looking down at him now. “I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred sighs, hand tightening on the neck of the bottle. The easy confidence he wears like a second skin dissolves in the silver moonlight. “I know what kind of person I am. I would gladly go to bed with you, Nerys.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiles a little and despite the tension between them, it still kicks flutters into her stomach. “But I would leave it ere long or cause you pain in some way. It never ends well with me. And as you are a vital part of our organization...I should not do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lets out a long breath. “You might let me decide that for myself, Thancred.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought it better to stop things before they got to that point. Because you’re right...in that moment I wanted to kiss you. But..” He lets the bottle lean against his stomach to stay upright and spreads his hands, showing how empty they are. “A few moments later, you would realise I was not what you wanted."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs a hollow, brittle sound. “You’re doing for me what Raena wanted me to do for her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes soften with pity. It hurts worse than anything else he’s said or done. “Am I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm. With her...I thought I could tell her everything and she understood. My childhood, my previous lovers, my life’s story. She wanted to know everything. I wanted to know everything about her.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wide eyes, asking for more stories, more tales of escapades. Long artist’s fingers on her cheek as Raena drinks her in.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“After a year we began to talk of the future. Decide what our lives might look like.” Her throat tightens. “I told her that I hadn’t thought my life would be monogamous but it was important to her, so I would be too. She asked me...what I meant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There is a soft intake of breath but she can’t look at him right now. “You can be...rather quiet sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can,” she agrees. “But with her, I had been so open. She knew how I was raised, I think she thought...maybe that I was a reformed rogue or that I hadn’t loved the people I had been with. But some of them I did love, I just...knew they couldn’t be forever so we enjoyed each other while we could.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How you were raised?” His voice is soft. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is more than she promised to answer but...it feels good to say all this aloud. No one had been there to hear her woes when it ended. Most of her friends had been Raena’s. Had stuck with Raena. “My parents were bonded. But where I grew up, it was common enough for the adults to share lovers and partners. I think she didn’t really understand what that meant until that day. They...I suspect because they hadn’t lived so in years, she thought it a phase.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two stayed together if my math is correct.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm. She believed me when I said that if it was only monogamy with her, then I’d adhere to that. Or maybe she thought she believed me. But after that...she struggled. It was like everyone I spoke to was a potential threat to our relationship. Could I really be fine with just her? Wouldn’t I leave her? After all, I seemed to be attracted to everyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nears, a hand on her arm. His thumb stroking over the fabric of her shirt. Nerys swallows and continues. “It was ugly when it happened. I returned a little late from visiting friends, she was suspicious and kept up remark after remark until I cracked and said some ugly things, all the things I had held back but never said because I knew they would hurt. I won’t repeat them now but...no one knows your weakness like a long-term lover.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys shakes her head. “Just...understand that I didn’t act like an adult. Instead, I lashed out, she lashed back, and by midnight she had gone to stay with her parents while I packed up. Not that I should have bothered...she left for Limsa Lominsa and sent word that it was over between us. Her parents came to pick up her things to send them along and neither of them would look at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nerys,” he says and she at last looks at him. He looks...sad. The pity is gone at least. She will take it. “I’m sorry. That sounds truly awful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was. I hope...that her telling me off earlier helps her feel better. I certainly feel better now.” Her lips feel heavy when she tries to smile. “If you won’t give me your lips, I’m glad for your ears.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nerys-” His grip tightens on her shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, you said your piece and I’ll respect it,” she says. “And now I think I’ll sleep off this alcohol. Tomorrow I must return to the Shroud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred sighs. “By your leave. I’ll fetch you some water in the morning if you have a hangover.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time Nerys manages a better smile though she likely looks soft and weepy with the alcohol bringing emotions to the surface. “Thank you, Thancred. I’m sure I’ll be alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods. Hesitates. Gives her shoulders another squeeze and lets go. Nerys crawls to her bedroll, letting the exhaustion of the confession and alcohol carry her to sleep.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Nerys,” Thancred murmurs in her ear. “Nerys, I’ve been called away. Will you be alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns half-opened eyes to him. Feels her cottony mouth and unwashed skin all at once. Why did she go to bed without grooming? “Yes, fine. Problem?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A break in my investigation. I’ll come check on your group soon. East Shroud?” Something soft touches her forehead and she inhales his scent. He’s already clean and dressed and ready for the early ferry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“East Shroud,” she repeats, closing her eyes again. “Be safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She touches where his lips pressed, and wonders.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>When Nerys emerges into daylight from the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak, she vows to return soon. The Sylph Elder needs to go home, the adventurers she recruited for the rescue need their compensation. But after…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That's twice now she's gone </span>
  <em>
    <span>in </span>
  </em>
  <span>to Gelmorra. Nothing compared to her drunken, youthful foray all those years past. And both times she has only stayed long enough to serve out a mission. All the build-up and wonder, only to just see the parts that need saving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe her fellow Scions will go with her. They might like that, scholars that they all are.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She is sent hither and yon again, putting the bowels of the earth behind her. Another benefit of recruiting her new comrades–they will not call her from the depths for errands and tasks. Nerys hopes none are afraid of the dark or enclosed spaces.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minako carries her along the familiar path to Buscarron's again. There used to be an open-air festival in this space before Buscarron built his druthers. They walked this exact path, she and her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each family group had one hour to enjoy the festivities. Too many Duskwight in one place and people were bound to get suspicious and accusatory. No matter if she hadn’t seen all there was to see in the ever-growing circle of tents. The other children were waiting their turn to visit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys received the same treat every year. Her family stepped into the maple tent, the air heavy with the saccharine smell and buoyant with laughter and excitement. Her parents purchased maple sugar pressed into leaf shapes, one for each of them. Every year Nerys tried to save hers as long as she could. Every year she ate the whole blessed thing before they returned to The Cavern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The festival has moved locations since. She took Raena there twice, half-expecting at any moment for her mother to appear and tell her time was up. It never was and she bought more treats than needed and ate far too many before they returned to the Central Shroud.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Greedy,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raena teased, popping one into her mouth before kissing Nerys with sweet lips and tongue. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Greedy,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raena said a year later, eyes narrowed and sighing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys knows...know she is not a bad person for being as she is. She knows this. It doesn’t mean Raena’s words don’t stick with her. Sometimes she wonders if this whole time, she and those she has found amenable to this way have been wrong all along. Her better self knows such worries are unfounded  and yet they prickle beneath the skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A lance is a solid, concrete thing. She has never had reason to doubt in it. Were that her heart and mind so corporeal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bar stands where the maple tent once did. The air inside is also filled with laughter but the aromas are hops and grains. Buscarron winks at her as he fills a flagon, setting it down before an exhausted-looking Lalafell. "Well, there is the hero of the hour. I hear the situation has been resolved."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bit of color fills her cheeks. She bets he has snared plenty of hearts with that smile of his. “Word travels fast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chuckles. “For certain people. I see you’ve a parcel for me? Ah yes this one, thank you...Sit. You’ve earned a drink on the house.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A cider then," she says. She'll abstain from liquor a little longer yet, the half-hangover still fresh in memory. "Nowhere else does it better than the Shroud."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course," he says. "Nowhere else does faerie apples like we do. "</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A narrow glass of the pale gold drink is set before her. The bubbles fizz upwards, filling her nose with fragrance when she brings it to her lips. It's crisp and sweet, bringing back old memories. Her father is a cider man, with strong opinions on who makes the best. That was his treat at the open-air market if they could afford it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Excellent. Who makes it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyur fellow near Quarrymill, Lionel. Makes it just for us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I will recommend this to my father." Nerys says. "He lives in a remote part of the East Shroud but I could tempt him back here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A man of good taste." He says. "Back here you said? He used to live in the South?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mm. I grew up in it." Nerys says. "I've no ties still here now but...being here does have a tinge of homecoming."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well then," His eyes lift to the doorway. "If I'm not mistaken, someone has come calling to your home."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns in her seat. Thancred stands there, travel-rumpled and smiling. He looks...soft. As if the sight of her gives him some measure of relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You saved me a seat without knowing," he says, strolling up and taking the stool next to her. "Welcome back to aboveground. Papalymo gave me the short version of what happened."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And where you could find me." She lifts her glass in salute. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I did promise to check on your group once my business was finished." He gives a little shrug. "It isn’t finished and I’ve not much time...but I do have a short reprieve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys nods, aware he cannot go into detail in this public forum. She is also aware that he is looking at her in a way that...should indicate something but can’t after what he said in La Noscea. His eyes stay on hers though, and her breath catches in her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you have time to talk?" He asks. "I can't fully catch you up to speed here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"R-right. Let me...finish my drink." She takes a gulp, swallows. "Debriefing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Debriefing. And…" He glances down at his hands and then back up to her. She hasn't seen this expression before. Tentative, hopeful. "Other things."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys drains her glass. She'll come back to savor cider another time. Digs into her pocket to find tip money. Buscarron smirks and she feels her blue-gray cheeks darken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know a place," she says. "It's somewhere I had planned on visiting."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"After you," says Thancred with a flourish of his hand.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The Cavern is one of many in Gridania. And unique in that it had been perfect for creating a community. The long descent isn't treacherous, the ceiling in no danger of falling. But if someone were coming in, their footsteps would echo no matter how quiet the intruder was. Should the worst happen, the community had secret exits at their disposal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nerys raises her torch as they enter the main chamber. The floor curves downward into a large, shallow bowl. Beneath her feet, runes peek through the dirt, carved into the stone. Magic is not her strong point. When she taps it and says the trigger words, the aether lights in the walls cast a pale blue light. Nothing like the bright lights she remembers that replaced a hundred torches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tents and lean-tos are long gone. Only a few had remained when they left, the group having at last mastered shaping the stone about them into structures. A few frames remain of the artisans’ tables, the rest stripped away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifts her torch towards the living quarters created from stone. Someone had come and taken much of the stacked rock. But what the conjurers had built into the floor and walls remain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Here," she says, leading them towards one such structure. It's a solid square, the wooden door long taken from the entrance. "Aunt Jehanne created this over the course of two days. We had to keep bringing her stone to meld into it or sweep up what she carved away. The week before we gathered whatever Mother needed to brew ether."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Incredible." Thancred presses a palm against the cool, smooth stone and the perfectly even seam of the corner. "Did she create all these?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think so." Nerys looks through the blue gloom of The Cavern. "One or two must have been completed after my time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your aunt was talented. Did you inherit a drive for masonry or conjury?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Ah." She hesitates. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He already knows. You only need remind him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "I called her Aunt because it was the most fitting but she was my mother's lover."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Ah." He echoes. "You mentioned...your other parent was alright with that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"’Twould have been hypocritical, as he had his lover and one they shared besides." She finds a notch to hold her torch upright and drops it in. Turns, gesturing to the expanse about them. "One day we would return to Gelmorra, using the skills we developed in The Cavern. And the people of Gelmorra had seen no reason to put limits on how people loved, so long as they were adults and consenting. So why would we?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred is silent. Perhaps she overestimated him. Has she shocked him? He looks...contemplative with his far-off gaze and finger tapping his lips. "Gelmorra had sound notions then. Is that why this place is empty? They started their experiment?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...No. Little by little it became apparent that it wasn’t progressing. They couldn't recruit enough people to make a foray into Gelmorra safe. People started leaving."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighs. "Shame. I like the idea of a settlement where people practice so."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...oh?" Her breath catches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes." He turns to her. "I think...we are alike in many ways. And I did not stop to consider that you might not want me to 'save you' in such a manner."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In theory, I'm not opposed to a pretty man coming to save me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Oh? Do you think I'm pretty?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heat surges through her and she steps away. Turns to another structure to examine its seams. "Clearly. Why else would I feel so flustered around you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice enrichens with laughter. "I had noticed that you act a little differently around me. I did not imagine it was solely from my face…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It isn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> your face. But it doesn't help." She rests a palm against the stone, willing its cold to seep into her and diminish the flames in her own face. "...I am not usually like this around a good-looking person."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do go on." His voice and footsteps draw close. “Tell me more about how attractive I am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I simply...wanted to be honest since we are on the subject." Her shoulders feel like they are up about her ears. "And in that spirit...you should know that the signals you have sent me this past month have been mixed. I'm not sure I know your intentions."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...I rather didn't always know them myself. I...was honest when I said it always ends badly when people get involved with me. But I never expected...that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> expect a relationship to look a certain way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I don’t.” He must be standing directly behind her, his warmth crossing the scant space to where she stands. “In fact, it does not need </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> a relationship. Though I do like you as a person, not just for what you could…” She struggles how to phrase it and ends up on “give me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred laughs. His hand touches the small of her back, a light touch with the layers of armor as a barrier. "Will you let me try again?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Try what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He touches her shoulders, turning her about to face him. His hands reach up, tilting her chin down towards him. Stopping a hair's breadth away. His eyes flicker from her mouth to her eyes, waiting for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the long delay, she worries it may not be as good as she has built it up to be. But when she kisses him and he crowds closer into her space, the doubts slip away. Everything slips away but the gentle pressure of his mouth and his hands and his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opens her mouth to him and he follows her lead, pressing up into the kiss. Angling her face just so to better fit himself against her. Beneath the loose-fitting clothes, his body is hard and solid, filling her limbs and face with warmth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He breaks the contact, panting a little in the still cavern. As they catch their breath the noise of it echoes around him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would that I had more time,” Thancred says, stroking her cheek. “I would show you all I can ‘give you.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mean,” she says with no venom. “But you have some time yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some.” He draws her back down. “Time enough to truly know what it is to kiss you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His nimble fingers thread through her hair as she bends into a slight crouch, the pads of his fingers pressing against her scalp and neck. Need spears through her. He cannot know what it does to her when someone strokes her there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred chuckles. Increases the pressure. “You like this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Or maybe he catches on quicker than I guessed.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She repays his teasing by shifting their positions, pivoting so that he is the one trapped between stone and flesh. He makes a soft, encouraging sound when she does, tilting his head back against the solid wall behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His erection presses against her, insistent and unconcerned with Thancred’s schedule. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No time to truly enjoy each other,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks, disappointment rising. But if he is going to run himself ragged across the country, she might grant him some measure of peace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can help you with that,” she murmurs, stroking it through the fabric.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groans and then groans again as she slides a hand up his tunic, fumbling with the laces of his trousers. “Nerys you don’t have to-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My fifth truth,” she says. “Is that I would like to do this for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thancred’s eyes flutter shut as her hand closes around him, drawing him out. In the dim light, in the tangle of their clothes and armor, she cannot see what he has. But she can feel his considerable length growing in her palm, the shape of his head as she circles it. Gathers the moisture at it to help ease the slide of her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-and the sixth?” He pants, sliding his hand to cup the back of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She moves close, his face presses against her shoulder. “I am pretty sure you cheat at cards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slander,” he murmurs. “I will have you know-” The rest of his outrage is lost in his moan. She squeezes and it shudders through him, color flushing through him in the cool blue light. Even as he jerks her into a desperate kiss, so deep she feels it curling her toes, she keeps moving her hand. Driving him towards some amount of relief and release for the road ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he comes it’s with soft curses, his arms squeeze about her, his eyes shut tight. He gasps her name, drawing the two syllables into many. She’s breathless as well, not as much as he, but feeling taut and wild and assuaged all at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nerys,” he says her name again, this time like a prayer. “You’re a wonder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” she says, unsure what else to say. What to do. Her own desire flares in her, making her mouth dry and eyes a little unfocused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should let me return the favor.” He says, kissing her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I see you next,” she says, sighing at the light touch of his lips on her skin. “I’ll expect a return with interest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs. Draws forth a handkerchief to clean them both. That he has such a thing at the ready doesn’t surprise her. Nor does the smug, satisfied look on his face. Or the whistling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun outside affects her eyes as they emerge. She squints against it, shading her hand over her eyes at the green, bustling forest around them. A wonder no manner of beast came into The Cavern and interrupted the stolen moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you see me next,” says Thancred. Looking at the fork in the paths ahead. “Though it might be better to say ‘when next we can find ourselves alone’ given that I might see you next on the battlefield.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiles. “Ah yes, let’s avoid that? Someone may have an objection.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaves her with a kiss and a wink, slipping into the Shroud and out of sight. There are...many things they still need to discuss. Doubts in her own mind and surely in his, after he kept pulling himself back so often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they have been at cross-purposes with communication already. Nerys wonders perhaps, if they should have been relating in the language they know best: hands, and lips, and mouths, and whispers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She will enjoy finding out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Special special thanks to kunstpause for beta reading this. I had hit a real rut and she got me out of it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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